UTILITY VEHICLE PRICING COMPARISON & ADVICE

[coobie]

Ya, seems you guys don't even have any hills down there.

Sorry to have side-tracked the thread.

Irish hills/Bundy Hill areas goggle it.Heck you can even ski down here. Maybe get out of the house more often and expand your horizons ..

 

[coobie]

No prob. A lot of us are happy with our UTVs even if we brought the wrong ones. Glad to hear it..

 

[the old grind]

I'm still laughing. Buy a Kubota RTV or coobie won't like you.

 

[ArlyA]

The OP was asking of course asking about working UTV's and I must say, we do love our 6x6 which does have engine braking I'm kind of surprised so few people here use them.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

There are a lot of good UTV's out there. I have a 2020 Kawasaki Pro Mule 3x3. Skids deadfall, hauls firewood, gets me around the woods, and can seat up to 6 (grandkids, etc.) if I don't have the rear seats folded down to give me more bed space.

Why the Kawasaki? Where I live now and where I'm moving to have dealerships that support the brand and do servicing if needed. I'm getting too old (and lazy) to be willing to do those things myself. So, along with price point think about what problems you may have down the road getting parts, etc.

 

[ArlyA]

I agree, a good dealership is important!

 

[MESSMAKER]

The mule is popular around here. Not fast or a good looker but durable, capable and a good price.

 

[mx1alex]

I have had a Ranger in the past. It was a good machine for me but I needed more room for the kids. We use it on the farm and then trail ride in Colorado every year as well. Didn't want to get something as big as Ranger Crew so I went with a Pioneer 1K5 next. Very fast, powerful and reliable machine. But having the seats up in the back meant zero bed space. And I hated how the roll cage covered the bed as well. Sold it a few months ago and got a Mule Pro-FXT. The Mule is awesome, just wish they made one with a bigger motor.

 

[coobie]

I'm still laughing. Buy a Kubota RTV or coobie won't like you.

I'm still laughing. Buy a Kubota RTV or coobie won't like you.

Just curious when I stated this?I laugh at folks like yourself who try tp put words in someone's mouth.Keep up the good work

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I have had a Ranger in the past. It was a good machine for me but I needed more room for the kids. We use it on the farm and then trail ride in Colorado every year as well. Didn't want to get something as big as Ranger Crew so I went with a Pioneer 1K5 next. Very fast, powerful and reliable machine. But having the seats up in the back meant zero bed space. And I hated how the roll cage covered the bed as well. Sold it a few months ago and got a Mule Pro-FXT. The Mule is awesome, just wish they made one with a bigger motor.
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That is really nice, I wish Kubota would up their game on their 4 seater...

 

[coobie]

That is really nice, I wish Kubota would up their game on their 4 seater...

A little more speed on the top end say 35mph would be nice also.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

A little more speed on the top end say 35mph would be nice also.

Where I live, I don't need the speed. I am very happy the way the 1140 climbs hills and navigates the ravines; but... you need a half acre to turn the bloody thing around, and there are literally NO aftermarket mods or accessories to customize it.

 

[deezler]

I want a UTV - for both a little fun on the trails, and general utility/towing. But I cant financially prioritize buying a new one at this time. So have been looking used. Problem is, inflation and market pressures are pushing up the used prices right along with the new unit prices. I fully expected to be able to snag a decent used Mule or Ranger for $5 or $6k by now, but NO, all 10 grand for anything decent. Oy.

I drive through Mesick every summer on the way to/from sleeping bear dunes.... but I sure as hell don't stop in the Bucksnort bar. Yikes.

Mx1Alex.... your Mule looks amazing. Highly customized - you must be past $30k into that thing all told eh? So the Cherry 3-cyl isn't strong enough for ya? Your bigger tires probably dont help there, but thats a bummer to hear.

 

[mx1alex]

I want a UTV - for both a little fun on the trails, and general utility/towing. But I cant financially prioritize buying a new one at this time. So have been looking used. Problem is, inflation and market pressures are pushing up the used prices right along with the new unit prices. I fully expected to be able to snag a decent used Mule or Ranger for $5 or $6k by now, but NO, all 10 grand for anything decent. Oy.

I drive through Mesick every summer on the way to/from sleeping bear dunes.... but I sure as hell don't stop in the Bucksnort bar. Yikes.

Mx1Alex.... your Mule looks amazing. Highly customized - you must be past $30k into that thing all told eh? So the Cherry 3-cyl isn't strong enough for ya? Your bigger tires probably dont help there, but thats a bummer to hear.

I sold my pioneer back in October for $1,500 more than what I paid for it 2 years prior. So yeah the used market is no bueno if you're buyer right now.

I bought this mule used. I was all set to buy a brand new one but saw this one come up for sale used and it had a lot of the aftermarket mods that I was planning to do anyways along with some extra stuff I wouldn't have paid for new. Its a solid motor on it. Same as the gators. Just coming from 1000cc pioneer is a noticeable difference. And you're right the 30" 10 ply tires bog it down some as well. If I had to guess I'd say there's ~$6k in extras on it. I paid $18k for it with just under 100 hours on it. I was gonna be pretty close to that for a new machine.

I will say this. I always thought they were too expensive as well. Until I finally broke down and bought my first one and now I can't imagine life without one. Taking the fam trail riding makes it much easier to justify to the wife as well. It's a good fun family activity.

 

[Thing]

Do tell us why CVT trannys are bad on hills....

i own a CF MOTO with CVT tranny and struggle terribly descending hills with it in high range. Seems like to use engine breaking you need to keep the clutch engaged, throttle engaged, which is too fast, which in high range means lots of mechanical breaking. The only way I have figured out descending steep hills without mechanically breaking is by using low range....which is a crawl. So, if someone knows a trick to descending hills using engine breaking with a cvt tranny..... please share thanks

 

[coobie]

i own a CF MOTO with CVT tranny and struggle terribly descending hills with it in high range. Seems like to use engine breaking you need to keep the clutch engaged, throttle engaged, which is too fast, which in high range means lots of mechanical breaking. The only way I have figured out descending steep hills without mechanically breaking is by using low range....which is a crawl. So, if someone knows a trick to descending hills using engine breaking with a cvt tranny..... please share thanks

I am sure the brain trusts we be along shortly and explain to you what your are doing wrong.

 

[ArlyA]

i own a CF MOTO with CVT tranny and struggle terribly descending hills with it in high range. Seems like to use engine breaking you need to keep the clutch engaged, throttle engaged, which is too fast, which in high range means lots of mechanical breaking. The only way I have figured out descending steep hills without mechanically breaking is by using low range....which is a crawl. So, if someone knows a trick to descending hills using engine breaking with a cvt tranny..... please share thanks

Your CF MOTO must not have a wet clutch? I'm not much of a mechanic to describe this but most modern machines have there CVT belts engaged at all times. Then the have a wet clutch to connect the engine to the drive. That's why when these atv's and utv's slow down via the engine when you let off the gas. That extra clutch is still connected.

In your case, you'll need to keep the engine revved enough to keep the CVT belt engaged and brake at the same time. When we operated sleds, this is how we did this.

 

[the old grind]

On what I call a hill engine braking isn't enough in any vehicle. I don't descend in a hurry if I'm using the brake at all, say riding it when engine braking isn't enough. I like to go 'slow' OTR too, but UTVs right?

btw, I don't want a back seat or cab, don't loan out or give rides. Diff'rent streaks for diff'rent freaks.

 

[Snobdds]

I have a polaris ranger and a Razr and they've been good to us. I like the plastic bed on the ranger and would not trade it for anything. The razr's plastic is holding up well.

I put a soft topper on the ranger for the dogs, and we cruise around my cabin area hitting secret fishing spots and general scouting. The razer stays behind at the ranch and I use it to bust drifts into the cabin in the spring.

 

[ArlyA]

Do we need to sell you pods for that machine??